Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus
Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus, Initial Phase (IP) Female Transitioning To Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish caught by a spear fisherman in Loreto, Baja California Sur, January 2014. Photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.
Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish collected at sea off Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, October 2006. Length: 61 cm (2 feet 0 inches). Identification reconfirmed by H.J. Walker, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish collected at sea Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, December 2009. Length: 66 cm (2 feet 2 inches).
Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Fish caught by a spear fishermen in coastal waters off Bahia de La Ventana, Baja California Sur, October 2014. Length: 68 cm (2 feet 3 inches).
Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus, Terminal Phase (TP) Male. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, March 2018. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.
The Azure Parrotfish, Scarus compressus, is a member of the Parrotfish or Scaridae Family, and is known in Mexico as loro chato. Globally, there are sixty-four species in the genus Scarus, of which ten are found in Mexican waters, six in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific Ocean.
The Azure Parrotfish has a deep compressed body. The females and males of the initial phase (IP) have brownish heads. Their brown coloring extends into the first half of the body and transitions to blue green in the second half. They have dark brown lines radiating from their eyes and several vertical rows of diffuse bars on their flanks. The males of the terminal phase (TP) are green with scales having an orange brown outline and their eyes have radiating spoke-like bands. The juveniles are similar to the initial phase fish but lack the blue green coloration on the rear of their body. The head of mature adults has a slight hump. They have prominent parrot-like teeth in the front and 1 or 2 canine teeth on the rear of their top jaw. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 9 rays; their caudal fin is slightly concave; their dorsal fin has 9 spines and 10 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 14 rays. Their body is covered with large scales. Their lateral line is broken with two parts.
The Azure Parrotfish is found in and around rocky coral reefs at depths between 3 m (10 feet) 26 m (85 feet). They reach a maximum of 68 cm (2 feet 3 inches) in length. They forage during the day, feeding on algae and corals. The Azure Parrotfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Azure Parrrotfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.
The Azure Parrotfish is very similar to and easily confused with the Bluechin Parrotfish, Scarus ghobban (15 pectoral fin rays).
From a conservation perspective the Azure Parrotfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are considered excellent food fish due to their white meat and are sold commercially in most of the major markets in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur. I assume that these commercial fish are caught by fishermen utilizing nets as catching this fish by hook and like is simply not possible.